Press Information Bureau

Aimed at strengthening the cyber security ecosystem in India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is organising a week-long Deep Dive Online Training program for Chief Information Security officers (CISO) along with Technical Heads, front-line IT staff representing different Ministries, Departments and organisations from Central and State Governments, PSUs, and Bank organisations.

Coinciding with the National Cyber Security Awareness Month celebrations,the training program is a part of a series of workshops organisedby National e-Governance Division at MeitYunder the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. It will help the CISOs and other participants to equip themselves with better understanding of the changing dynamics of the cyber world, so that they are able to translate the benefits of a secure cyber space to individual organisations and citizens at large. The role of CISOs is to do a gap analysis of the cyber security in an organisation and come out with a plan and strategy to bridge the gap and take corrective actions.

In his keynote address, Shri Abhishek Singh, President & CEO, NeGD, noted that it is needed to be ensured that the Chief Information Security Officers across various Ministries, Departments, PSUs, Banks are not only trained but can also becomeIndia’s Cyber Security Ambassadors spreading the need to be cyber secure.

He added, “If we are aware of the right practices, we can adopt a culture that ensures cyber security is handled well and equips us to address the new emerging challenges.” Speaking about India’s improving global cyber security index from 47th in 2018 to 10th in 2021, he reiterated Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call for making India the most Cyber Secure Nation.

During the training program, Shri Vinay Thakur, COO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD) called upon the urgent need to create awareness around cyber security. He emphasised on adoption of actionable measures to mitigate cyber threats at a time when every second massive data exchange is generated through mobiles and computers as well as through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFIDs, numerous apps, individual downloads and uses, etc.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had launched the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative in January 2018. It is the first public-private partnership of its kind, leveraging the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity. The knowledge partners of this training program include CDAC, CERT-In, NIC, STQC.

The program is being conducted from October 25 - 30, 2021. At the end of the sessions, it is envisaged that the CISOs will be equipped and empowered to handle Cyber Security challenges in their respective organizations and spread requisite awarenessabout cybercrime and build capacities for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.

RKJ/M